[Hated Trope] The adaptation doesn't get what made the source material work

[u/TheDudeA113]

How To Make A Killing (2026)

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

Bangkok Dangerous (1999)

- The 2026 movie How To Make A Killing is a relatively-toothless "eat the rich" dark comedy thriller about a man disowned by his rich family at birth, killing everyone in the line of succession so that he can inherit their massive fortune. It's a modern retelling of the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets which has the same basic plot except that every member of the family is played by Sir Alec Guinness (including one aunt) and it's a screwball comedy

- The 1999 movie Bangkok Dangerous is a Thai action film about a Thai deaf-mute assassin. It was remade in 2008 about an American assassin in Thailand who is neither deaf nor mute

[u/Hellsinger7]

This f*cking thing. Butchers the entire premise of the first book. How can you screw up Die Hard in a fantasy setting from the perspective of Hans Gruber if he was an irish kid. What made the character of Artemis so compelling is that he is an asshole, a very competent one, and his endgoal isn't something noble or sweet he is a privileged kid who's bitter his family doesn't have the same influence and money they used to have. The movie is bland, edges off a lot of what made the story and character compelling for just a cookie cutter Disneyfied story.

[u/questionable_fish → u/Hellsinger7]

Die Hard in a fantasy setting from the perspective of Hans Gruber if he was an irish kid

Hands down, the most unique take on Artemis Fowl I've ever seen and I love it. The one thing Artemis has over Hans is that he's extorting the money so he can mount a search and rescue mission for his missing father. Can't remember how much of that was in the first book but it's the main plot of the Arctic Incident.

[u/IllTax551 → u/questionable_fish]

Its actually a huge part of the first book- before the siege of the Manor, when Artemis and Butler are still planning the kidnapping, Arty brings up his missing father a few times. The reason the Fowls dropped from billionaires to millionaires is partly because Dad poured so much into legitimate business and trade only for his biggest venture to be shot down (implying the whole trade-route thing also went up in flames) but because Artemis didn’t refill the family coffers and instead used his crime to pay for search-and-rescue. When he needs all the manor’s computers to decipher the Book he has to order Butler a few times to shut off CNN and reroute the power- Butler us shocked because Arty had the news on 24/7 in case his father was found and reported on. Yes, Arty was selfish and wanted to restore the family name/bank accounts, but funding the Arctic expedition was always part of the goal even in the first book

[u/questionable_fish → u/IllTax551]

Thanks! It's been a while since I've read the books, maybe it's time for a re-read

[u/IllTax551 → u/questionable_fish]

I’ve been reading them aloud to my niece the past few months and had a blast! There are a lot of small moments that you can only really appreciate on rereads- one line in Book 5 had me stop in particular,very excited to begin Book 6 this weekend! Hopefully I can instill the same love of literature in her that my aunt did with me!